Chapter 10 A Horny Satyr
A Horny Satyr
Liam leans against the side of Gracie’s mailbox with a sigh.
Does he really want to call his parents for a ride home?
Does he really want to leave? He should have taken his own car and not gotten a ride with Zeke.
Now he’s stuck here sulking on the curb of a neighborhood on the wrong side of town.
It would probably take him over an hour to walk home from here.
Fairview isn’t a huge place, but it’s wide and full of broken streets and forks and cut in half by one very noisy freeway.
Nothing is working out well tonight.
Even Hate2LoveU is letting him down.
Maybe it’s no one’s fault Liam feels this way other than his own. No one else to blame for his mood. Not Hate2LoveU. Gracie or his other friends inside that house.
Not even Teague.
He shouldn’t have snapped at him like that, especially in front of everyone.
On the other hand, Teague was too busy doing what he does best—enjoying the spotlight of being stared at—to notice how uncomfortable Liam had become.
Of course Teague would enjoy and excel at a game where the entirety of it is spent being stared at nonstop by your opponent.
He’s obsessed with being looked at, isn’t he?
That’s probably the beginning, middle, and end of every one of his secret wet dreams: basking in an ocean of everyone’s admiration.
Even the costume he chose was an obvious and desperate cry for attention.
Liam’s stupid little plan to get back at Teague backfired. He ended up giving the egomaniac exactly what he wanted.
He wasn’t even fooled about the costume thing. He knew.
And that’s not the worst part. Despite the long and trying day Liam had with Teague, despite the birthday lie and the teasing and the unnecessary joyride out to Spruce, Liam actually felt guilty for trying to deceive Teague and humiliate him tonight.
This isn’t like Liam. Not at all. Scowling.
Being angry. Acting rude and snappish and petty.
None of these are qualities he’s known for.
Yet Teague managed to draw out each and every one of them.
But is it Teague? Or is this what Liam’s really like deep down?
“There I go,” he sighs to himself. “Trying to blame everyone else for my bad mood and worse behavior, instead of just …”
Instead of just taking responsibility for himself.
But the words don’t come.
“Waiting on an Uber?”
Liam looks up, startled by the voice.
It’s Teague.
Instantly, all of Liam’s worst instincts are back like a plague. “Go away,” he snaps, then glares down at his phone.
He doesn’t. Teague slowly crosses the lawn, then stops at the sidewalk a couple paces from him.
“I’m sorry for using that stupid name. I won’t call you by it ever again.
Promise. Birthday present officially returned.
Swear it on every trophy I ever won. Not even as a joke …
and no matter how cute and endearing I think it is. ”
Of course he’d point out all his trophies even in an apology. Liam sighs. “It isn’t about the stupid name.”
“Then what is it?”
“You’re just … so …” He lowers his phone. “You presume so much, Teague. About yourself. About others. You act like everyone should love you without question. Praise you. Bow down to you. Laugh at your jokes. Compliment your costume.”
“To be fair, this was a pretty clever thing to pull off in just under an hour on a tight budget …” he points out.
“I’m so sick of it,” Liam carries on. “And then you somehow convince Mr. Michelson to hire you, despite the fact that we were fully staffed for the summer. And you know what? A tiny part of me wondered if maybe you have changed since the last time I saw you. Maybe the pompous, self-important Teague I knew back in school has finally found his humility, his grace, his … self-control. But no. You’re … depressingly the same.”
Teague goes to put his hands in his pockets, until he realizes he has no pockets in his skintight shorts. So he awkwardly stuffs his hands halfway into the shallow pockets of his vest. Then he realizes that isn’t a comfortable option either and drops his arms to his side with a frown.
Liam checks his phone one last time—still no reply—then finally pockets it for good. “Screw this. I’m just gonna walk home.” He pushes away from the mailbox.
“Wait. Can we talk some more?”
“What about? Your big Satyr phallus?”
Teague is in front of him at once.
Startled, Liam takes a step back—only to trip over his own foot. Utterly incapable of avoiding his clumsy nature even in times of need, Liam stumbles backward until his heel hits the tire of a truck parked on the curb. His back slams against the side of it.
“Uh … you alright?” asks Teague carefully, perhaps astonished that Liam was capable of such a seemingly choreographed move.
Liam decides to lean against the truck like he meant to do that all along. “What do you care?”
“Please, can we talk? Just five minutes.”
“I’m not sure I can even stomach five seconds.”
“This isn’t how I was hoping tonight would go.
This isn’t how I was hoping the summer would go.
I meant it when I said I wanted you to like me, Liam …
but not because I felt, uh … entitled to your feelings.
If you really hate me so much, I …” He drops his gaze to the ground.
“I guess I just need to accept that. Somehow.”
Liam looks down at the broken old sidewalk, too.
Something about the change in Teague’s tone of voice rewrites the emotional landscape of his mind.
Now all he can think about is how softly Teague spoke to him while they were in the house.
The way his whole body tensed under Teague’s challenging, determined stare.
The way his heart galloped as they sat on that couch, staring into each other’s eyes.
He’d be a downright liar if he didn’t admit he wanted to play that game, too. He wanted a chance to look at Teague without having to sneak a glance all the time. He wanted to pour every last drop of himself into those syrupy brown eyes.
He wanted to see what everyone else sees.
And if Liam was strong enough to admit it, he might even say he could have stared into Teague’s eyes for a whole hour. He could imagine them touching each other, too. He could imagine himself caught in Teague’s strong arms, like the day he fell down from the stepladder.
He could imagine their lips …
“Can we just start over? Please?”
Liam looks up. Teague has taken a step closer, standing right in front of him now.
“Please?” he tries again. “Can you give me a chance?”
Liam considers it. Not for long. “There’s no need. You have two guys in that house who think you’re amazing. Both Gracie and Deena obviously want you, too, so … just take your pick of whose spotlight you want to be in today.”
“I don’t want any of their light,” says Teague, a touch firmer.
“I’m going home.” Liam takes one step.
The next thing he knows, Teague’s hands are on his chest, pressing his back against the side of the truck.
Their eyes are locked once again on each other’s—Liam’s in surprise, Teague’s with yearning.
“I said I don’t want them,” repeats Teague. “I want you.”
Liam’s lips part, at a loss.
The next thing he knows, Teague lunges forward.
Their lips come together.
The full weight of Teague’s body presses against Liam’s with need, pinning him to the side of the truck with his heat, with his desire, with his nearly naked body. No matter what words were just shared, no matter the aggression, no matter his fears …
Liam instantly realizes this is what he wanted all along.
Teague’s lips. Teague’s fierceness. Teague’s passion.
Teague’s attention.
Even the bulge in his skintight shorts is acutely and fully felt.
And it responds, flexing against the stretchy material.
Nothing seems to go through Liam’s mind as Teague kisses him deeply, leaving him in a blissful state of denial, oblivion, and boundless glee. He’s become another person. Living another life. Experiencing something he never dreamed he would know.
And also everything seems to go through Liam’s mind. The unexpectedly soft and tender touch of Teague’s lips. The breath crashing between their faces. The weight of their bodies against each other, pinned to the truck, no escape possible.
No escape desired.
Teague’s grip on Liam turns soft. Then he lets go, but doesn’t take a step back.
The two stare into one another’s eyes in wonder, each of them as stunned as the other.
“I didn’t realize …” murmurs Liam, frozen in place.
“I, uh, didn’t plan that.”
A moment passes as the two catch their breath. Teague’s body is still very much pressed against Liam’s. Every breath they take fills their ears, no other sound or noise able to penetrate them.
“I didn’t, uh … go too hard, did I?”
Liam blinks. “What?”
“The kiss. I didn’t want to hurt you, considering your braces.”
“Oh. Uh, no. It was … fine.” But was it fine? Did it hurt? Liam could barely form thoughts while it was happening.
“Okay, good.”
Then Liam’s mind takes a different direction. “Are you … Are you messing with me?”
“Messing with—? No. What?”
“This isn’t some kind of prank?”
“Liam …”
“Because if this is some kind of prank …”
“I have wanted to kiss you for a long, long while now.” Teague stares pleadingly into Liam’s eyes as he speaks.
It’s as if their game on the couch never ended.
“But you kept hating on me so much, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever get the chance.
Maybe you really didn’t want anything to do with me.
Maybe you still don’t. But I had to try.
Even if it was just a ride on an old country road.
Or a bite at a burger joint in little dusty Spruce.
I couldn’t let this summer go by without at least … trying.”
Liam stares at him in wonder.
Nothing about Teague’s face looks false.
He means every word.
Finally, Teague takes a step back. “I should probably, um …” He clears his throat, appearing awkward for the first time in human history that Liam has ever paid witness.
“I should go. You should stay and … hang with your friends. All those gingersnaps Gracie made you will go to waste, which is honestly pretty tragic. She’s, like, devastated.
Well, kinda-sorta. Actually she’s probably gobbling them up right now.
Never mind.” After one last moment of gazing at Liam with unmistakable longing, he turns to go.
Liam doesn’t let Teague get two steps away before he chases a totally insane impulse: “Hey, why don’t we blow this off together and, like … hang out.”
Teague stops, dazed by the question.
“J-Just to hang out,” Liam adds in a panic. Wait. Is he really asking this? Are these really his words? Has something taken over his body? “Chat. Talk. Uh … y’know. Whatever.” He takes a breath. “To … start over, like you wanted.”
Teague peers into Liam’s eyes for the longest while. “I … I …”
Liam lifts an eyebrow, worried.
Then Teague’s lips curl. “I … like the sound of that.”
Liam stuffs his hands in his pockets. “That’s … good. Great.” Then he stands there awkwardly, unsure what comes next.
Teague takes the lead. “My place or yours?”
Liam can only imagine the delightfully intense interrogation they will both endure at the hands of his nosy parents, who might very likely still be awake. “Yours …?” he suggests.
“I can drive us.” Teague nods at his truck.
Liam glances back at the vehicle they just made out against. “Oh. I didn’t recognize it.”
“Really? After spending all afternoon in it? My loyal steed?” He comes up and slaps the side of it, then gives Liam one of his signature crooked smiles.
“You hungry? We can grab something to eat on the way. Pizza, fast food, tacos, whatever hits you right. And that’ll be two meals we’ve shared today.
Then I’ll take you home later on when you get bored of me. ”
“Um … sure, yeah, that … that sounds fine.”
As Teague unlocks the truck and opens the door, Liam faces a terrifying jolt of fear, worries if this is the worst idea of his life, swallows it down in an instant, and forces himself to get into the truck with the horny, dollar-store satyr.